RYLD

Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF

Global X · $1.32bn in assets, October 8, 2026

Owns the stocks in the Russell 2000 and sells one-month call options on the index each month, turning much of the small-cap upside into income.

RYLD, the Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF, is a $1.3 billion ETF whose main story is the income overlay. Over the past year it returned +16.1%, against +16.8% for broad US ETFs. Figures to October 2, 2026; past performance, not a recommendation.

RYLD · the ETFFRI OCT 2Market price total return
+5.4% a yearTotal return since launch, April 2019
+16.1%Last 12 months
+11.6%Year to date
16.9%Volatility since launch

The narrative it carries

This is its only narrative.

The income overlay →

ETFs built to pay income: dividend stocks, municipal bonds, preferred shares and covered calls.

The income overlay · the narrative this week
46.0WARM level, 15 of 22
last four weeks
629ETFs carry it
36.6%held by the top five
VIGlargest holder, 10.5%
$1,095 bncapital, 3rd of 22

The band is where this narrative’s level sits among the 22 this week. QUIET means less talked about, not falling.

Who owns the capital
VIG 10.5%SCHD 9.9%VYM 7.7%MUB 4.3%VTEB 4.2%624 other ETFs 63.4%36.6%top five
#ETFSHAREASSETS1 YEARCOST
1VIG10.5%$114.51bn+10.1%0.04%
2SCHD9.9%$107.89bn+23.9%0.06%
3VYM7.7%$83.99bn+13.8%0.04%
4MUB4.3%$46.62bn−2.0%0.05%
5VTEB4.2%$45.69bn−2.2%0.03%
624 other ETFs63.4%
RYLD: 0.1%

Share is each ETF’s slice of the capital carrying this narrative. 1 year is market price total return; cost is the expense ratio. See all 629 ETFs on the narrative page →

FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN

1M3MYTD1Y3Y*5Y*
RYLD−2.6%+0.6%+11.6%+16.1%+9.9%+2.4%
The income overlayits narrative−2.7%−0.8%+8.8%+10.8%+14.5%+8.8%
The marketbroad US ETFs+0.8%+2.6%+14.6%+16.8%+22.9%+12.9%

1M, 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y: one month to five years. YTD: year to date. * A year, annualised. A dash means the ETF has not traded for the whole period. Since it started trading on April 22, 2019: +5.4% a year.

$10,000 invested April 30, 2019

RYLD $14,715The income overlay $20,069The market $28,826
$0$10,000$20,000$30,000Apr 2019Apr 2021Apr 2023Apr 2025$0$10,000$20,000$30,000Apr 2019Apr 2023

Year by year

RYLDThe income overlayThe market
-20%-10%0%10%20%30%RYLD 2020: -0.4%Narrative 2020: +8.3%The market 2020: +21.4%2020RYLD 2021: +22.1%Narrative 2021: +19.7%The market 2021: +27.1%2021RYLD 2022: -13.0%Narrative 2022: -6.4%The market 2022: -19.8%2022RYLD 2023: -0.7%Narrative 2023: +11.0%The market 2023: +27.9%2023RYLD 2024: +10.1%Narrative 2024: +13.3%The market 2024: +23.1%2024RYLD 2025: +5.6%Narrative 2025: +11.2%The market 2025: +16.8%2025RYLD YTD: +11.6%Narrative YTD: +8.8%The market YTD: +14.6%YTD-20%-10%0%10%20%30%RYLD 2020: -0.4%Narrative 2020: +8.3%The market 2020: +21.4%2020RYLD 2021: +22.1%Narrative 2021: +19.7%The market 2021: +27.1%2021RYLD 2022: -13.0%Narrative 2022: -6.4%The market 2022: -19.8%2022RYLD 2023: -0.7%Narrative 2023: +11.0%The market 2023: +27.9%2023RYLD 2024: +10.1%Narrative 2024: +13.3%The market 2024: +23.1%2024RYLD 2025: +5.6%Narrative 2025: +11.2%The market 2025: +16.8%2025RYLD YTD: +11.6%Narrative YTD: +8.8%The market YTD: +14.6%YTD

Total return in each calendar year; this year is year to date. A year appears only if RYLD traded for all of it.

Total return on the market price, with each distribution reinvested on its ex-date. Not the NAV return the issuer publishes; the two differ when the ETF trades above or below the value of its holdings. The narrative is the asset-weighted return of the unlevered ETFs that carry it. The market is the asset-weighted return of broad US index ETFs. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Common questions

What story is RYLD selling?

RYLD’s main story is the income overlay, which covers ETFs built to pay income: dividend stocks, municipal bonds, preferred shares and covered calls.

Which ETFs compete with RYLD?

The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like RYLD’s over the past 3 years are IWMW (0.96), RYLG (0.93) and BUFS (0.91).

How has RYLD performed against its story?

Over the past year RYLD returned +16.1%, the ETFs carrying the income overlay +10.8% and broad US ETFs +16.8%, to October 2, 2026. Its weekly returns have a correlation of 0.84 with the story. Past performance only.

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Narrative figures are from the weekly board. Performance is market price total return as of October 2, 2026. Assets are StoryVector’s weekly figure. Classification and measurement. Not investment advice. How the measurement works →